[IC] The Office

[Bee]

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Kayla Archer

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"Today's the day, Kayla. Don't fuck it up. Don't fuck it up."

Today was a particularly big day for Kayla. The first job interview she'd managed to pick up since she lost her previous job. As soon as they called her back, she booked the first flight to Pennsyvania and made her way there. She really needed this job, now with her daughter, Kelly, having only her to support her through life. The details of the position she would be undertaking (if she was hired) sounded practically identical to the job she previously had, but with slightly better benefits that benefited both her and her daughter, like a better dental plan. She wanted this job really bad, and with her prior experience and credentials, she was confident she would be getting it, provided there wasn't some guy from Stanford with a PhD. She sat in her rental car, driving toward Dunder Mufflin of New Castle.

She had never been to this part of the United States before, so she was leaning on her phone to provide her guidance. She didn't even know where she was at this moment. All she hoped for was that she made it there on time. The car ride there was silent, not bothering to listen to the radio since she was in the zone right now. She was rehearsing the interview in her head as she drove along the freeway. It was going to be a little bit before she arrived, about twenty minutes according to the GPS, with the traffic as well. She went over things like credentials, why she wanted this job, skills she brought to the table, all sorts of things like that. She had interviews before, just not in a long time. It was sort of scary, but it wasn't something that Kayla couldn't handle.

A few minutes later and the treacherous drive there had deescalated down to a tranquil journey through the local streets. There were no cars to be found as she traversed into miles and miles of office buildings. The lone woman scanned carefully for the building she was supposed to arrive at. She was anxious to just get there already. The extra effort to locate the building had soon paid off as her phone had chimed, indicating that her destination was to her right. Pulling into the parking lot, she saw that there were a few empty spots. Looking at the building, there was no way that it was all occupied by Dunder Mifflin, which meant that she would probably encounter some people from other companies at some point. She pulled into an empty spot, right next to a Bentley that needed a little restoring. She turned the car off, but remained in her seat for just a moment as she collected herself, taking a deep breath before she grabbed her belongings and walked out. The sun beat down on her dark gray blazer and her purple shirt as she made her way to the front building, passing a pink Fiat and a Chevy Cobalt.

As Kayla walked into the building, she was greeted by a security guard sitting by at a booth, before she stopped in front of the directory to see where Dunder Mifflin was. Locating it, she promptly walked into the elevator and ascended to the floor the branch was located. Hearing the bell go off, she walked out into the hallway, her heels making a loud thump as she walked down the corridor. Finding herself in front of Dunder Mifflin's New Castle branch, she took a deep breath and opened the door, walking into the strangely familiar office. However, it seemed to be desolate. Nobody was around, not even a receptionist. Kayla looked around awkwardly, before taking a seat right next to the empty receptionist desk. She put her head back on the seat and waited, hoping that someone would come by soon. Or was she too early? She was a few minutes ahead of schedule so maybe they weren't expecting her so early. Either way, Kayla was fine with the wait. It allowed her to collect herself.

[samreaper]

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Gerald Fischer

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Location: Dunder Mifflin ---> Conference room

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Entering the conference room after the others, where he took his usual seat at the front as he liked to be right where the action of the meeting took place. He couldn't help but fidget in his seat; giddy to hear whatever speech the boss had planned for them, which indeed had to do with the camera crew and the documentary about the ever-day life at the office. He listened closely to what Mr. Ferguson had to say about it and by the looks of the man, seemed both annoyed and extremely put off by the prospect.

Reading about it on memo hardly did the news justice and actually having the boss tell them about it only excited him even more with the fact that each of them would be on t.v. He made sure to keep a mental note of it all; especially Aidan's mentioning of his name as he found it enjoyable to be included in a speech.

With the speech coming the end and started to raised a hand to ask a question, that is until Mr. Ferguson turned down any from him along with Chris and Declan. Disappointed at the chance or that the meeting was now over; at least until Eduard stood up to show he had something to say. He leaned back in his seat with a raised eyebrow, curious of what the H.R might have to say and what he heard and while the others gave out dejected groans, he simply smiled with a quick and brief clap.

' And here I thought this day couldn't get any better, only to prove me wrong.' Not only did they get a meeting today, but a peer review too? what a truly super duper day, Gerald thought.

[Fabricant451]

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Eugene Han

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Conference Room

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In what she hoped was a very subtle, very unnoticed gesture, Eugene's ears practically perked up when Aidan made reference to the camera crew's presence as being quote 'reality television'. It was a secret to pretty much everyone that Eugene was something of a fan of the trashy reality television shows and though she disagreed with the cameras disrupting workplace productivity - such as it was - she had to admit that being part of an actual non-scripted (it's always so easy to tell) reality series did sound somewhat appealing. Except of course it meant that potential anonymous viewers would think she was some sort of anomaly, some foreigner that didn't belong or something. Maybe, just maybe, they'd respect her for climbing the corporate ladder in spite of herself.

But any small, potential enthusiasm was swallowed when Eduard mentioned that it was about the time for peer reviews. They were always such an awkward experience for her, not because her work was lacking or anything, but because it amounted to Eugene struggling for the 'right' words and her peer growing noticeably more annoyed. But on the plus side, there was often the chance that her peer would speak slowly and Eugene had to resist the urge to laugh at how utterly ridiculous it sounded. She never quite understood that mentality - if someone doesn't speak the language what good would it do to speak an unknown language slower?

The looming peer reviews did plant a little seed in the back of Eugene's head. She often wondered if anyone resented her for her position in the company - she didn't flaunt it or lord it over anyone, but she had to assume at least one of her co-workers still considered her to be a kissass or something; never mind the fact that she hadn't kissed anything ever least of all ass. They probably wouldn't mention it one on one...but people's eyes and faces spoke louder than mouths sometimes.

The Korean woman did, however, find herself speaking up and directly to Eduard to boot. "Why can't just...pair now?" She didn't really see the need to take the trip to the annex; was privacy truly a concern when they spent so much time in their cramped little office space? Eugene would have much rather gotten her pair now, if only to get it over with.

Like a band-aid. All in one go.

[Morose]

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Date: Monday August 1st, 2016 ~ Morning

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@The Whacko @Fabricant451 @AbysmalDemon @samreaper @sakurasan @QueenOfTheBee

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You know, when they say that the New Castle branch has a high rate of employee turnover, people tend to brush it off. They don't understand how rare it is for anyone to last here, with most new employees quitting within a week. If you make it past that terrible week, you're likely a lifer. You're accustomed to seeing new faces each week, and you probably know a fair deal of the temps that the temp agency sends over. More of them will be arriving later that day, once Aidan gets a chance to deal with the latest round of LLA....

Remember our dear friend, Temperance Venable? Our new accountant? She just received news of the death of a family. Quit, upped and left to head off to Nebraska in order to be with them. They hadn't even finished processing her paperwork yet, and already, they were having to process her termination. But hey, the accounting family can't have any worse luck, right? It's just Gerald back there now, after all...

And sweet Nana Darling, our Customer Service Representative? Relax, she's fine! During the meeting, she discreetly checked her phone. She'd been offered a position in upper management at a rival paper company. With the added pay and benefits, it made complete sense to the young Customer Service Representative. She excused herself in the middle of the meeting, went over and collected her things, and went on her merry way. There isn't even time for an office party.

Declan, Declan, Declan....Oh, how Aidan would wish death upon thee! Declan followed Nana out of the Conference Room. Hearing her confession she was going to leave, Declan made a confession of his own. The two left Dunder Mifflin, hand in hand. What a happy turn of events, folks!

@QueenOfTheBee: Kayla gets a bit of an amusing sight. As she sits there, numerous employees walk out of the office, never to be seen again. Declan, Nana, and Temperance. The first pair seem to be happy, while the last one has red eyes, puffy from crying. Does this unnerve you? You've likely been warned about New Castle before, under advice to apply at the other branches, and to avoid the arse of a boss, Aidan. No one seems to be coming over to you, though. Maybe you should go find whoever's in charge?

@The Whacko @Fabricant451 @AbysmalDemon @samreaper @sakurasan @QueenOfTheBee: In the midst of Eduard's speech, one of the phones starts to ring. Because everyone has the same ringtone, it's impossible really to tell who the phone belongs to. It could be your sickly grandmother....or it could be a client....or just a wrong number! With no receptionist, someone has to go answer it.

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Aidan Ferguson

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Location: The Conference Room; Dunder Mifflin

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Seeing that no one had any questions, Aidan couldn't have been happier. He was hardly irritated when some of his employees left in the middle of the meeting, and through the glass, he watched them gather up their things. Making a mental note to call the temp agency as soon as this was over, he also noticed the Asian woman waiting around nervously. Must have been there to interview for the accounting position, he figured. Pondering a bit how long she'd last, Aidan returned his attention to Eduard.

"Keep these things quick, lads!" Aidan instructed, frowning a bit. He just knew that Chris would spend a bloody year back there, the cunt. As much as he hated Chris, well, despised him...he still wanted the lad to work. The seminars and peer reviews tended to take more time out of the day then he'd like. "Keep these to a minute or less if you can!"

For a moment, Aidan contemplated giving out bonuses to anyone who only spent thirty seconds on peer reviews. There was probably some archaic company policy against that, however. Narrowing his eyes slightly at Gerald, Aidan became increasingly irritated by the smug smile on his face. Fischer was the bane of his existence at times, him and his happiness! The lad would need to learn the true power of the dark side of the force...

"Excellent point, Eugene," Aidan praised, temporarily distracted. "It'll be quicker if we just do it all in here. Fischer, when you're done, go and get people prepped for interviews....And stop bloody smiling!"

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Gwen Westbrook

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Location: The Conference Room; Dunder Mifflin

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Gwen glanced up from her book softly, smiling discreetly at the cameras. They'd followed them into the Conference Room, true to form. Taking her pencil, she jotted down some basic notes on Emily's latest movements. And true to her stalkerish tendencies, she took them all down in Spanish. The way Emily looked at Chris, Gwen was fairly certain something was going on there. She'd called Nana and Declan becoming an item ages before they rushed out of the Conference Room together.

Maybe this'll be a reference thing.... Gwen pondered, tapping her pen against the paper. She supposed she could turn these notes in when applying for a job with the PD, as a method to prove her deductive skills. However, when Eduard took over, Gwen's curiosity peaked. She'd never been asked to do a peer review before, this being her first and only summer with Dunder Mifflin New Castle. The entire thing seemed...odd, to her.

"It'll all end up on television anyways," Gwen pointed out. "We're all going to know what we said, so there isn't much point in doing it separately..."

Of course, Gwen truly didn't care about the peer reviews themselves. It just seemed like something interesting would have to occur. Perhaps someone would get mad and shout at Chris. Maybe Aidan would finally have the ulcer she'd been expecting him to get. Someone could break down crying in a teary confession of unrequited love. It's be more entertaining than helping out Gerald, since the accounting staff all left.

[Bee]

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Emily Kessler

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As Chris would respond, a soft smile formed on the California native's face. What she was truly feeling inside was masked by the smile, it was a mask she liked to use to really conceal what was going on inside that mind of hers. The mind that held many things like the horrors she experienced with her step-mother, or the fact that a certain somebody liked to look at fanfictions of some sort on their offtime. She then looked back at Eduard as he did his thing.

It was kind of strange that Nana and Declan had just suddenly upped and left, as in left the office entirely. What had happened between those two? There was this weird trend of people just straight up leaving. The accounting team was stripped down to just Gerald, a couple salesmen had left, and Rose was just not here. It was scary just how many people were leaving today, which coincidentally had to be the first day the camera crew came. To the audience, it'd probably be perceived as them not wanting to be shown on camera. It was understandable. But Emily was losing more and more people to talk to. Chris was still here, which was nice. But everyone else she didn't really talk to.

Maybe Emily would have to start talking to the likes of Eduard and Gerald more just so she could keep her circle open. Suddenly, the phone rang. She couldn't tell who's phone it was, and the constant ringing was starting to bug her. Since it could potentially be a phone that belonged to somebody who had left, she was probably one of the only people who knew what to do to get the person to the right place (meaning that she knew how to operate the phones the best). "Excuse me. I think that phone needs answering." Emily said as she got up, walking out of the conference room and into the office. She was trying to use her hearing skills to pinpoint where exactly the phone was.

After a few moments of wandering around like a bat, she found the phone and picked it up, the office finally spared of its distinct, but annoying ringtone. As she heard the person on the phone speak, her eyes darted into the conference room, her piercing blue eyes staring into it as she tried to find someone.

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Kayla Archer

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Kayla waited around for what seemed like forever. She started to wonder if she was too early for the interview. The accounting prospect pulled out her phone and looked at what she had scheduled for today. Thankfully, she wasn't the one who was too early. Some way, somehow the person who was supposed to help her around wasn't here on time. It was sort of worrying for her. Was something big going on? Had she come at an inappropriate time? Or maybe... was she wrong to sign up for the New Castle branch? People had always told her not to sign up for this place, but Kayla saw the potential it had, not to mention it had the highest pay out of all the other branches. She gripped her phone tight in her hands, looking around for a sign of life in the office.

It was practically right on cue, as she saw a few people walk out from nowhere. One was crying, and a couple were happy. Kayla thought the pair was going to help them along, but as they walked straight past her she thought differently. She figured that they were victims of the notoriously high turnover rate she had heard so much about. Hopefully, with Kayla's credentials and background, that she wouldn't fall victim to one of these turnovers. Suddenly a phone went off and it startled dear Kayla. There seemed to be nobody around, but she hoped someone would be out soon so that she could be released from the hell that was known as that ringing over and over again. Kayla put her head down, her hair flowing down and obscuring her head as she tried to deal with the ringing.

She looked up and someone came out, a blonde girl, and picked it up. She sighed a breath of relief. Kayla took one more look at the time, and decided she needed to go look for someone. She didn't know if taking the initiative herself would get her in trouble, but it was worth a shot. She got up, her heels pounding as she walked past the manager's room. She peered into the conference room, which turned out to be where everyone was. She revealed herself in the hallway, trying to make eye contact with Aidan Ferguson, the boss. "Hello? I'm Kayla Archer. I'm here for an interview at *insert time that passed a long time ago*, for the accounting position?" This was way outside of Kayla's comfort zone, but if it got her the job then it was worth it.

[AbysmalDemon]

[color=aba000][i]

Chris Meyer

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Interacting With: Gwen Westbrook (@Morose) and Emily Kessler (@QueenofTheBee)

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[color=2e3192][i]"You spelled all wrong. Two 'l's."[/color] Gwen said, pointing the pencil to a five-year olds mistake. He quickly took the notepad from her, adding another 'l' to the misspelled word. "What are you talking about?" He said, pointing to the now obviously corrected word. He was kind of paying attention, until he heard his own named mentioned. "They want us to act like ourselves--and if any of you put so much as a toe out of line, I'll skin you alive. Chris, Declan, and Fischer. I'm talking to you," Chris internally sighed. He leaned over to Gwen, "He's really not making it easy for me this time. Wants us to act like ourselves without stepping a toe out of line." He whispered with a smirk. Today was going to be interesting.

Chris, do you want some company before you go in later? Emily, the one on the other side of him asked. He didn't really know what she meant, but he and Emily were good friends, so it couldn't hurt. "Um... Sure." He said awkwardly, as he didn't really know what else to say. He was about to continue, but Declan and Nana both walked out of the room as well as Temperance, which was weird. They just got up... And left. Chris raised a brow, but didn't say anything as the others watched as well. Emily went to go answer the phone, as we now didn't have a receptionist, and Chris was left dumbfounded, as four of his Co-Workers left the conference room, and three of those four, left the building. Out of his eight years working at the New Castle branch, he never saw anything as strange as this.

[The Whacko]

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Eduard Dautrive

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Conference Room

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"Because it's a twenty page review. Do you really want to just sit here and wait for everyone to finish?" Ed said, looking toward Eugene. She was good at her job for sure, and the first call about financial questions. The whole 'pretending not to speak English' bit was starting to piss him off, though. Aidan's proclaimation only further soured his mood. He hated when the boss undermined his decisions.

The phones threw Ed for a loop. Sure, they were going off pretty constantly, but all at once? Weird. The big man stood and started swearing up a storm in Creole, hating being interrupted like this.

[color=Khaki]"Don't forget, people! Ny office! Pick up your packet and talk to your partners!" The Cajun barked, starring toward his office. He jogged toward his office, neatly organized as usual, the centerpiece on the wall being a signed, framed copy of Action Comics #775, and on his desk an open copy of Pathfinder: Horror Adventures, sitting right next to his phone, and the stack of peer review packets.

(....I have no idea if it was his phone or not, so....yeah.)

[sakurasan]

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Alastair Abbey

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@Morose

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Alastair sat in the conference room quietly before the boss man finally began to speak. The cameras that were all over the place were finally being addressed. Alastair awaited the reasoning and was surprised to hear of a new reality Tv...or documentary? Alastair only knew of documentaries but he knew that his daughter loved those reality TV shows. It didn't seem very...appealing whenever he saw bits and pieces of the show. A female was almost always yelling or crying and it just made Alastair wince and wonder what had happened to the poor thing.

He lifted his head and stared at one of the cameras near him for a while until he finally smiled a bit. Was that what he was supposed to do? Or maybe give a little wave? But as he looked around, he realized that practically everyone was pretending that the cameras were not there so he lowered his hand and looked back at the boss.

When he finally explained that they were to act like themselves, Alastair sighed a sigh of relief for no particular reason. But the part when Aidan strictly told them that they were not to give off any bad impressions or else there would be skinning. That made Alastair tense up a bit, sitting up in his chair even more than before.

"Understood, sir."

Looking over at the people that had left all of a sudden, he tilted his head. Declan and...Nana? And the new girl whom they had barely even spoken to. All three of them just leaving so abruptly. Maybe they didn't like the idea of cameras watching them? Alastair soon stood up, ready to get back to work. He had things to sell today, that was for sure. But with the peer review happening he had to get ready with that. Twenty pages wasn't too bad but it wasn't easy either. He would have to work hard so that he didn't disappoint anyone.

[fluorescent]

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Amy Cordaro

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Location: Amy's Parents House -> The Receptionist's Desk, Dunder Mifflin

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"Amy, honey, why exactly are you going to apply for this job?"

Amy Cordaro rolled her eyes dramatically at her mother. "Have you not seen the documentary, Mom? Hello? They're, like, the awesomest company since ever, probably!" Her wonderfully structured sentence came complete with wild arm flails and dramatic hair tosses. Sure, it wasn't the best argument she could've come up with, but it's not like her mom was really going to give her a hard time about it.

"I don't usually give you a hard time about these things-" Whoops. "-but isn't that a terrible reason to want to work somewhere?" Mom had taken on that condescending parenting voice Amy knew too well. It came with being the youngest in the family; try to do anything, and Mom was right there making sure she was making the right choices. Her parents didn't question her choices often, since Amy typically made the right ones, in their eyes, but there were days when naiveté got the best of her.

Ask Mama Cordaro, and this was totally one of those days.

"Mom, I've been working at deadbeat jobs for, like, a year now. I want to do something more than that, and I really think that this is gonna be it."

"A receptionist position."

"Yes."

"At Dunder Mifflin."

"Yes!"

Her mother sighed loudly, setting her cup of coffee down on the kitchen table. Amy came over for breakfast fairly often, but she rarely had news like this. Like she was actually getting a real job that would pay real money and let her do real things that meant something. Or, so she thought. Amy wasn't really sure about that one, but it was nice to believe. Besides, anything is better than bumming around between retail jobs.

"At the end of the day, it's your decision to make, and I support you completely. Just... please make sure you aren't goin- okay, you're already out the door."

Amy missed that part completely. Her car was already started and shifted into gear by the time her mom finished speaking. The drive to Dunder Mifflin was only ten minutes, even at the almost obnoxiously slow speed Amy drove at. She had heard once that she should not be driving a Mazda - a stick shift, for that matter - if she was going to drive that slow. But it wasn't important to Amy, since nobody was telling her what to do with her baby.

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The moment of truth. All she had to do was open the door. Breathe in. Out. In. Out. Okay, you can so do this, Amy reminded herself, as she prepared to enter the office she had become such a fan of after the documentary released. Amy raised her hand to open the door, but something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye.

Was that... a camera?

"Oh my gosh, are you guys filming me?"

They didn't respond, largely because there was no crew; it was just a camera left to its own devices on a tripod.

"That's so cool." With a newfound confidence, Amy burst into the office, her resumé in hand.

To be met by... nobody, really. When Amy had decided to apply for Dunder Mifflin for the receptionist position, she didn't realize how bad the situation was. There were people in the room, sure, but nobody at the desk itself. All the better for herself, Amy figured. With absolutely no clue how to go about applying for a "real" job, Amy simply walked up to the receptionist's desk and set her resume down, resolving to stand there as long as she had to until someone greeted her.

[Fabricant451]

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Eugene Han

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Conference Room

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Eugene shook her head in disbelief - why did the review need to be twenty pages long? Exams in college weren't that long, and those things actually mattered. Of course Eugene had her doubts on the length, if she had to put a finger on it she was assuming it was an excuse to get people to take the trip over to the annex - it was a bit lonely at times, probably, and lonelier now that some once familiar faces would no longer be part of the daily grind. Eugene also figured that most employees would just skim through the packet - anything to do less work seemed to be the motto of the company. Well, at least with some sorts.

Before she could voice any further objections, however, a new face poked her head into the conference room. The turnaround sure was quick - no doubt the first documentary feature had something to do with renewed interest in the company; had Eugene known about it at the time of her application she might've sought employment elsewhere. Eugene didn't say anything to the woman, this Kayla person since hiring wasn't her job - but with the meeting practically at an end, Eugene excused herself from the table and left the conference room, giving Kayla a quick passing glance. She would reserve judgment - Kayla was not technically an employee yet...plus she was here for an accounting job which was not Eugene's territory.

Whenever someone came to replace Declan well...then she might take a more vested interest.

As she returned to the office floor, she was somewhat thrilled to get to work - or as thrilled as one could possibly be to be, well, working. Before sitting at her desk, however, she took a glance towards the receptionist desk; it was hard not to see it upon leaving the conference room. Another new face.

"You work here?" Eugene called to the girl at the receptionist desk. Were they due a new receptionist? It hardly seemed like a desired position but...Eugene certainly wasn't about to complain if it meant someone could answer phones and make copies. Eugene continued to stare towards the receptionist, completely unaware that she WAS staring. "Ferguson office..." Eugene flicked her pointer finger towards the office of Aidan Ferguson, the boss, "Good luck."

That served as an appropriate greeting in Eugene's eyes, though of course should she or that Kayla person get hired there might come a more formal introduction.

Or not. It was hard to tell with Eugene.

[Morose]

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Date: Monday August 1st, 2016 ~ 10:15 AM

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@The Whacko @Fabricant451 @AbysmalDemon @samreaper @sakurasan @QueenOfTheBee @fluorescent

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The Meeting has finally ended, and it's a little past ten in the morning. Lunch break won't be for another two hours, so it's time to get to work. Are you headed out on sales calls today? Are you pretending to answer customer complaints while looking at Harambe memes? Whatever you're doing, Lady Luck has come for you! Will she be merciful? Or will she be horrid? Only the dice can tell, my friends...Only the dice...

@QueenOfTheBee: Emily answers the phone. The office actually lucked out with this one, it could've been your major client bailing on you! But no. Instead, it's a fuming Scottish woman. It probably won't take Emily more than a minute to realize it's Aidan's ex-wife. Now, you could transfer the call to Aidan's office...But do you really want to put Aidan in a grumpier mood today? Hanging up sounds good, right?

@The Whacko: Looks like Ed might want to double check the peer review packets. If he happens to look closely at one of them, he'll notice they aren't in English. In fact, everything is in Spanish! Seems there must have been some sort of mix up, but it isn't like Rose is around to deal with that, right? Can't be mad at a dead woman, now can you?

@AbysmalDemon: Once Chris goes back to his desk, he'll find a rather rude and curt email waiting for him. One of his largest clients, the New Castle Tribune, has decided to switch to another paper company. Apparently they didn't care for the conduct of one of the salesmen in the last meeting, but they didn't mention who. Ouch. That'll put a big dent in his commissions, right? Hopefully Aidan doesn't find out...

@sakurasan: Okay, so not the luckiest of rolls....But hey, beats what happened to Rose! Alastair gets a massive stomach pain, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. It's either something he ate, or somehow, it's one of Chris' latest pranks. Curling into the fetal position by your desk may be an option, but is that really what you want to do?

@Fabricant451: Head of Sales and Assistant to the Regional Manager brings a lot of responsibility with it. You're cc'ed on the email sent to Chris, detailing all about how he lost a major client for the company. Time to crack the whip, right? Or maybe you've decided to give the man a break? Nah, that'd be too easy. Hopefully your Peer Review doesn't keep you from dealing with this matter.

All other characters can find their updates below. :) Mostly in Aidan's.

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Aidan Ferguson

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Location: The Conference Room ---> Main Office Area; Dunder Mifflin

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Aidan sighed. Once again, it seemed that HR was conspiring to keep his workers busy with other tasks. Glancing down at this watch, he frowned slightly. "Very well. Eduard, this better be quick, got it?" He glared slightly at the man, a bit uncharacteristic of him. He usually didn't mind what Eduard did, but a twenty page peer review? The entire thing sounded ghastly, a conspiracy to keep people from working.

Glancing over at the new face, Aidan arched an eyebrow. He hadn't even called in the temps, and already, people were here for interviews. It was a bit impressive, to say the least. And a good sign about the girl. "Wait by reception, Fischer will check you all in."

Nodding at her curtly, Aidan stood up and left the conference room, pulling out his mobile. A quick email pecked out and sent to the temp agency, ensuring that June, William, and Tom would be sent over promptly. Sometimes, Aidan pondered hiring those temps on permanently, given how frequently they ended up coming out to the office.

Except for Tom. He hated Tom.

Others have begun to show up for the accountant interviews. They mill around the reception desk area, chatting with each other, and glaring daggers at Kayla. If dogs can smell fear, well, these folks can smell talent. Jaina Sarybe, Mara Scelus, Ivy Isley, and Édouard Riviere are all there, with nerves running high. There are two accountant spots vacant. The entire group is a bit cutthroat, despite none of them having any qualifications for the job aside from Kayla.

"You lot, sign in with Fischer," Aidan ordered, motioning towards the dopey blonde with the pudding bowl haircut. He ran his hands through his hair, before spotting the timid girl by reception. She looked like she fit the part, and with a noncommittal grunt, Aidan walked over to her. "Hold my calls until these interviews are done, understood? Especially if it's my ex-wife."

It didn't matter to him that he didn't spend a single minute interviewing Amy. In his opinion, receptionists were at the bottom of the pecking order. Anyone could do that job. In fact, if the girl hadn't shown up, Chris would've been filling in. A stranger was much preferable to that walking and talking nightmare. "Once they're all signed in, send them into my office one at a time. Got it? Good."

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Aidan paused, his lips pushing forward slightly as he nodded his head. The camera crew wasn't wrong, after all. It was a bit of an unorthodox hiring process at Dunder Mifflin New Castle, but they had the sales to prove its effectiveness. "Why did I hire that girl on the spot? Well, it's simple..." Turning his computer around, a news article depicting a car crash from earlier that day. Rose Peters had been killed, a vehicular homicide. Raising his eyebrows twice in rapid succession, Aidan turned the screen around. "No doubt bloody Ed is going to try to pray over this--but really, we need a receptionist, the girl came in, doesn't seem to be too much of a moron."

Taking a sip out of his mug, filled with Irish Coffee, Aidan winked slightly at the cameras. The focus switched momentarily from him to showing the line of potential accounting candidates standing outside. A few of the crew members were interviewing them currently. "We're bringing in some temps for the meantime," Aidan explained, shrugging slightly. "People seem to scramble to get out of here, for some reason...It's like we're an Old Folks home and everyone dies at once! Bad for business, if you ask me."

---

---

Gwen Westbrook

---

Location: The Conference Room ---> Her Desk (9); Dunder Mifflin

---

---

Gwen rolled her eyes at Chris. Sometimes, it seemed like she was the mature one and he was the teenaged intern. As dorky as he was, she still couldn't help but enjoy hanging out with him. He was an excellent shield, serving to distract others, and thus let Gwen do whatever she pleased. "You act like I didn't see you fix it," Gwen whispered back, a subtle smirk on her lips.

Snickering at Chris' next comment, Gwen silently closed her book and set down her pencil. There wasn't much more point to the meeting, with things being clear the way they were. Aidan was going to go ballistic if peer reviews took forever, and Eduard guaranteed that they would take forever. As soon as she could, Gwen left the Conference Room, snatching a pair of earbuds from a desk. They wouldn't mind if she borrowed them, right? Putting them in, she turned her phone on shuffle, and began to listen to music. Whistling on as she did, Gwen sat down in her desk.

The peer reviews could wait. For now, unless she was told to go help someone, it was time to get back into Harry Potter. And maybe text her girlfriend, as soon as Elise got off from work. Her job was considerably cooler--she was interning at a lab, and while she mostly just cleaned beakers, it beat working at a paper company any day.

---

---

"Why do so many people leave Dunder Mifflin, you mean?" Gwen reiterated, pausing a moment to collect her thoughts. Since arriving at the company, she'd seen dozens of people leave, only to be replaced by new faces. Those new faces hardly lasted very long, giving off the impression that more people were hating the company than was true. "Aidan expects a lot from people...Well, not the interns, but...I think it scares people off? And every now and then, when he's pissed off, he gets really Scottish about it."

She laughed slightly, her eyes darting over towards her boss, as he furiously typed out an email on the far too tiny phone. Her dimples revealed themselves as she smiled, and she brushed her hair over her shoulder. "I mean, not too many people want to be shouted at by an angry Scottish dude, right? That's not something in the job description."

[Bee]

---

---

Emily Kessler

---

Main Office -> Conference Room -> Annex

---

A very distinctly Scottish voice came through the phone as Emily stared at her boss, Aidan. It was a Scottish woman belting out whatever it was she was gabbing about whatever it was. Emily found the Scottish variant of English very hard to understand. It was hard enough for her to comprehend what her boss was saying in the first place, and then now that there was an incredibly thick accent added into the equation, it was nigh impossible to understand, especially over the phone. She made out a few words, but she didn't bother to remember them as she took a finger and pressed the button where the handset used to rest. It disconnected the call and Emily was freed from the grasps of Aidan's wretched ex-wife. Emily raised her eyebrows and rolled her eyes as she put the handset where it belonged. Wiping a lock of hair away from her face, she returned to the conference room. She did glance at the unfamiliar figure standing in the doorway though. Probably a new hire.

As she sat down, she heard the trail end of Eduard's explanation. Something about having to pick up a packet in his office. She stood around in the conference room for a little bit even after the boss had left, before finally departing herself. As she made her way back to the annex, her phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her pocket and saw that the local news had sent her a notification. Something about a car crash where at least one had been identified as dead. As she cut across the kitchen, she opened up the app and scrolled through the story. She glanced over it, until one thing had really caught her eye.

"Rose Peters, 25, has been identified as one of the people killed in the crash."

The camera zoomed in on Emily's devastated face as she finally figured out why Rose hadn't showed up to work. As it turns out, yesterday was the last day she would've ever seen Rose alive ever again. It had devastated her. She bit her lip and proceeded back to the now completely lonely annex. Now that Nana had left, there wasn't really anyone else to keep her company in her little section of the office. It was sad. Emily had walked back into her office, nothing but silence filling the annex as she plopped down in her chair, putting an elbow up on the table as she tried to figure out what had just happened.

---

"I honestly don't know what to feel right now. Everyone around me is just... going away now."

The camera zoomed out from a portrait shot of Emily as she looked down at her shirt, fiddling with a button as she tried to comprehend the recent tragedy that had struck her circle of friends. Her eyes were slightly red as she was blatantly fighting back tears. She didn't want to cry. Not in front of the cameras. Emily knew very well that they would be gobbling this sort of stuff up, and use it pretty often in their documentary. Not her, she wouldn't fall victim and be that archetype in the documentary.

The camera panned over to the completely vacant (for the time being) annex, before going back to Emily's lone self.

"Am I upset? Yes." Emily bit her lip as she tried to figure out what to say next. It was hard to think clearly after being struck so suddenly with grief. She really was connected to Nana and Rose. It was hard to deal with their lack of presence in the office. Nana didn't affect her as much as Rose did, at least Emily had the opportunity to text Nana, but Rose, Rose was no more.

She couldn't think of anything to say, she really couldn't. Emily decided to end the interview, dismissing herself.

"I better head on over to Eduard's with Chris, gotta get started on those peer reviews." She laughed, before sniffling and getting out of her chair rather quickly.

---

---

---

Kayla Archer

---

Conference Room -> Main Office

---

Kayla was honestly taken slightly aback as she locked eyes with her (hopefully) boss-to-be for the first time ever. She stared at him intently as he addressed her. The brief interaction had left a weird taste in Kayla's mouth. Was it a good thing to do? Was it a bad thing? Kayla didn't know, but she sure as hell hoped that she didn't do the wrong this time. As she left, she found a couple more interviewees sitting next to the receptionist desk. She felt their eyes go onto her, stabbing into her very soul and heart as she walked over them, taking the seat closest to the receptionist's desk. It seemed just like high school, with them being so, so cliquey. They were all gathered around the table, as if they were better than everyone here. They probably didn't even have a fraction of Kayla's credentials. Hell, they were probably gathered there talking some serious smack about her.

Kayla didn't understand why they were staring into her like that, she was here for the same reason as everyone else. She was sure she was going to get the job though. No way they were going to turn someone like her down. Suddenly, Mr. Ferguson came out and gave them their directions. Kayla looked at the mopey blonde. She swore he must've been a member of a Beatles cover band at one point in his life. As he walked away, Kayla was the first to rise, walking over to the man that Mr. Ferguson had told them to check in with. As she walked to him, she looked around, and noticed that the office looked like there were quite a few open positions. Maybe another one of those cutthroat accountants would be joining her as well.

---

"My name's Kayla Archer. I'm from Seattle, Washington."

Kayla had no idea there would be a full-blown camera crew documenting their every move here. Seeing as she had little experience in this sort of situation, it was expected that she'd be a little bit nervous. She tugged on her shirt collar, making sure she was looking spic and span for the camera.

"I'm applying for the vacant accounting position that had recently opened up. I guess a friend referred me. They told me to avoid the New Castle branch, because of all the people leaving. But, they had the best offer to me, and to make a long story short, here I am."

Kayla smirked, flipping her long brown hair back as the interviewers asked her a question of sorts.

"Well, I've got a Master's in Accounting from the University of Washington. I don't know what the other people have, but I'm sure they've got something similar. I came from this start-up in Bellevue. Westing & Fisher. They were on the news a few months back. Y'know, the big case about money embezzling?"

Kayla was then asked how she felt about her chances of getting the job. She looked to the upper right corner of the room as she collected her thoughts. She hadn't done a camera interview like this since her Olympic stint. And even then, it wasn't as in-depth as this.

"I think I've got as good of a chance as every other candidate. It's all up to Mr. Ferguson, I guess. I think at the end of the day we'll see who makes it in.

Kayla flashed a smile as the interview concluded.

[fluorescent]

---

---

Amy Cordaro

---

Location: The Receptionist's Desk, Dunder Mifflin

---

"Wait, so... I'm hired?" Amy's face lit up, her eyes darting from camera crew member to crew member. "Just like that? I thought I'd have to interview or wait for a call back or something."

"Umm, a little about myself... I like cute and pretty things, and I don't think I dislike anyone. I'm really just happy to be here!" Amy bounced up and down a couple times, only hammering in her excitement.

---

It took Amy more than a moment to realize what was going on. She stood frozen and stunned for nearly a minute before she jumped into action. "Oh, um, of course, sir! Uh, my name is Amy Cordaro, by the way, just in case you're... wondering..." Amy trailed off, realizing quickly her new boss was hardly listening to her. She moved behind the desk, slowly hiding her resume in a drawer. She took a piece of computer paper and placed that on the desk, instead. "So enter your names, phone numbers, and email addresses here and I'll begin sending you in one by one to... hm." Amy realized she had minimal realistic knowledge of the company, including her boss' name. "Does anyone know what his name is? Anyways, Ivy Isley, what'shisname will see you, now."

[Morose]

---

---

Aidan & Gerald

The Accountant Interviewing Squad

---

Location: Aidan's Office

---

---

After the horrible fiasco of a meeting, Aidan wanted nothing more than to sit down in his desk, and have himself a drink. The antics of his employees had a way of getting to him. Rose was nowhere to be seen, Foster had quit in a drunken rage the night before, and Temperance had already bailed on them. Not even a minute after the meeting had ended, she came into the office, a mess of tears. Someone in her extended family had died, and she was leaving at once for Nebraska, uncertain if she'd ever returned.

They hadn't even finished processing her paperwork. It'd been her first day. She'd worked for perhaps an hour at most. Sighing a bit, Aidan had already managed to fill the day with accountant interviews, only to find he'd need to hire a new Customer Service Representative as well. The New Castle Branch was known for its high rates of turnover, but....this?! This wasn't something he was prepared for.

Gerald rarely got a reason to visit the boss's office and especially by one who didn't want you coming in. And it didn't matter if his presence was wanted or not as the reason for him being called in involved the interviews to the open vacancies in the accountant department. He could barely contain himself, though wanted to avoid antagonizing his boss any further than he was just by standing next to him and contented to bouncing on his heels, giddy with excitement.

Having interviews was already an great experienced; doing the interview yourself multiplied the enjoyment of it by multiple folds. To him, it was a chance to meet new people and the best part? getting to choose who would be working alongside you at the office and not even Aidan's foul mood could spoil it.

"Ivy Isley is up first," Aidan grimaced, irritated at having Gerald right by his side. The boy was far too chipper for his liking. As terrible as it seemed, he anxiously awaited the day that Gerald would come in, crying his eyes out over the death of a loved one. At least he'd then know for certain the boy was human, without resorting to asking him to fill out captchas. "Try frowning once in your life. The smiles are creepy," Aidan advised, motioning for his new receptionist -- what even was her name? -- to send the first candidate in.

With Mr. Ferguson calling to have the first of possible recruits, though heard his comment towards him that he should try frowning every now and then."That I can try, but no promises boss." A brief twisting wave of his hand as he tried to frown; clearly looking force which only held for a few seconds before the tips of his lips started twitching before flinging into a full on smile.

Aidan rolled his eyes, propping his chin up with his hand. Perhaps he'd spring and use some of his Christmas bonus in order to give the kid plastic surgery. His dimples were driving him insane. However, he instantly put on a void expression as the first candidate for the position, Ivy Isley, entered the room. Ivy confidently strode inside, taking a seat. Her gaze was fixated on the token plant in the office.

"Your plant needs water," Ivy said sharply, as if scolding a parent for letting its child play with knives. "I wasn't aware Dunder Mifflin employed murderers."

"You learn things everyday," Aidan grimaced, glancing down at the paperwork they had to fill out for each and every interview. From the information in Ivy's application, she was a botanist from Atlanta, looking for a bit of a change of pace. He raised an eyebrow, glancing up at the woman. "Why do you want to come work in hell, excuse me, Dunder Mifflin New Castle? What makes you qualified?"

Ivy's face didn't show any sign of comprehension. She continued to stare at the plant, as if transfixed. "You really ought to water that plant." She glanced over towards Aidan, and grabbed the plant. Frowning at him, Ivy took it with her, sweeping out of the office without another word.

"Jesus fucking christ, Fischer...." Aidan sighed, before motioning for the next candidate to come inside. He'd let Fischer take the lead on this one, a Ms. Jaina Sarbye. The preliminary background check revealed a brief stay in a mental institution. Delightful.

Fischer, however, held up his mini Elsa figurine, a dopey grin on his face. "I actually didn't want to say anything until later, but gosh, Mr. Ferguson, I guess I have to tell you now! I got hired for Staples!" Gerald's dimples practically fell off from the intensity of his grin, and he hugged his boss tightly, before running out. He ran around the Office in a sort of victory parade, leaving a figurine present for each and every person. And then, for the last time, Gerald Fischer left.

"Fuck me!" Aidan growled. He threw a glance outside of the window, staring at the remaining applicants. They were a group of freaks and crazies, and at this rate, he'd need to hire three of them. He let out a deep breath, and decided to go for a bit of an unorthodox approach.

"Raise your hand if you have an accounting degree," Aidan instructed, watching as only one hand went up. "Lovely. Hired as accounting head. The rest of you, come into my office for a group interview."

---

---

"...And that's why I'm not allowed in every state west of Illinois" Jaina finished, kicking her heels together. She beamed at Aidan, who had managed to hit his head against his desk enough that it was bleeding ever so slightly. One of them didn't speak any English, only whining in French. Another was too bloody happy, and seemed to be another Fischer in the making. Another just played Pokémon Go the entire time and screamed about a squirtle. All in all, the thing was a bloody mess. He shook his head at the interviewees, managing to get them to leave his Office.

He let out a heavy sigh, and went into the Office proper. "I'm calling corporate," Aidan announced briefly. There was no speech, no pomp, and no circumstance. Never before had the New Castle branch lost so many in one day. From a financial standpoint, there wasn't much reason for the branch to continue. They'd have to merge, to be absorbed into another, if employees couldn't be found quickly.

"Try not to bloody panic," Aidan advised.

[Bee]

---

---

Kayla Archer

---

---

Kayla flinched slightly as she heard the rather cute looking receptionist announce the first interviewee to go into the office. She looked at the first woman to go, a brunette. Kayla's eyes, along with many other pairs, tracked her as she went inside the manager's office. Kayla's leg was starting to bob up and down slowly as the anxiety slowly started to envelope her. Maybe she'd get the job immediately and there was that. It was a frightening process but Kayla had to live through it. For however long it took, even if it was excruciatingly long. She sighed. Planting her head on her hand, propping it up with an arm as she looked out into the strangely barren office. Was there just a mass exodus of people? She could've sworn there had to be people here. It didn't look good for her future in this office. If people were walking out left and right, then what's to say she wouldn't be one of those people in the future?

Suddenly, the brunette walked out with a plant in hand, looking rather disgusted. Kayla raised an eyebrow in curiosity, questioning why in particular that had just happened. Then another man, the one she had dubbed the Beatles cover band man... just out of the door. She swallowed hard. Kayla then looked up at the boss who had stood in front of the interviewees, and asked who exactly had an accounting degree. Kayla raised her hand, knowing she had a legitimate Master's degree. It was right there and then - she got the job. Actually, she didn't get the job she had wanted, she had gotten the one above it. She didn't know how or why, but she was left speechless. The rest of the group looked at Kayla in disgust as they went over to conduct the group interview. Looked like she'd be their boss from here on out.

Kayla was confused. She looked over at the receptionist. "So... what now?"

---

---

Emily Kessler

---

---

As Emily walked out into the office, she took a look at it. Nobody was there anymore, except for Eugene. It was rather disconcerting. Emily retreated back into the kitchen. She was going to need quite a bit of coffee for her to have the energy to deal with this later on. She'd have to make sure the files and clients and whatnot were taken off and redistributed to the new salesmen, and Eugene would get a handsome commission as well. She saw the pre-made bowl of coffee, and poured it into the biggest mug she could find. She didn't have time to put cream and sugar. She walked out of the kitchen and saw Gerald leave, she shook her head and retreated back to her office. She couldn't handle it.

A few minutes later, and Emily had returned back into the office. This time she was lucky enough to catch Aidan on his way back into the office. She held her mug of coffee tightly as she walked into the office as well. She sat down in the chair in front of Aidan, her piercing blue eyes staring right at him.

"Aidan, what are we going to do about... this?" Emily looked back into the nearly desolate office, then back at her boss.

[Fabricant451]

---

---

Eugene Han

---

Her Desk

---

To think she assumed the worst part of her day would be fixing Chris' mistake - how many times had she had to do that over the years? She typically reserved meting out punishments for the boss, but cases such as this couldn't go without a reprimand. Although it seemed likely that any reprimand would fall on deaf ears - as by the time she finished going over the email and silently stewing in a bit of anger and looking up, she noticed the office had gotten considerably less...populated. If that meant Chris got the boot, Eugene was going to chalk it up to the latest screw up - which now fell to her to fix.

And then it set in further. Not only was it now her job to get the major client back, but if her eyes were working correctly...there was just one salesperson in the branch. "Ah, Shi-bal..." she cursed in her native tongue just before running a thumb and index finger along her forehead. People were doing interviews, but how many were going to be able to fill the vacant sales position? Worse, she would have to potentially train new employees - in the past she was able to have others do it for her, in order to fit the ruse.

But now? Was there even a point to the ruse now that the staff was basically new? In a way, she had done it. She had fooled them all - so much for the grand plans of revealing it on the day of her retirement or, god forbid, firing. Now...now she had nothing except a bunch of clients to now worry about. It might've meant a bigger check come pay day. But it also might've meant a merging or, worse, loss of job.

In the midst of the panic, because for as much as they were told not to how could Eugene not be panicking on some level - Eugene turned to the camera crew, no doubt wondering if there was anything more to shoot now that a mass exodus had transpired. Eugene stood up and motioned for one of the cameras to follow her into the annex, making sure to shut the door behind them. "When corporate comes down it's never a good thing," Eugene spoke in non-broken English, "But it's usually just a routine meeting and check up - they would tell the underperformers to do better and I would get praised and my stock lowered in the eyes of my co-workers. But now? If they catch wind of this...if the office is empty...I don't know what we're gonna do."

Eugene exhaled, brushing hair from her forehead. "What? Oh, the voice? Well at this point I'd only be hurting us to keep it going. This is a bit of an issue, try to take it seriously. If all else fails we could maybe find some college dropouts to fill the ranks. Honestly? They might even do a better job."

With another deep breath, Eugene returned to the main floor, noting the look of general confusion on the eyes of those still employed. "No use worrying about it," Eugene spoke up, taking a seat at her desk and pulling up the list of clients that until recently had been split among the sales staff, "Until they say otherwise we still have jobs to do. But if either of you want to try your hands at sales, now's your chance."

It was going to be a long day.

[Morose]

---

---

Aidan Ferguson

---

Location: Main Office Area; Dunder Mifflin

---

---

Aidan ended up hiring two of the other interviewees. He gestured for his receptionist -- what was her bloody name? -- to get them all settled in. Mara, Jaina, and Kayla would be running the accounting department from now on. Hopefully, none of the complete strangers would let them down. June, William, and Tom were already on their way from the temp agency, prepared to reinforce the sales team. He tugged on his hair, taking a swig of his scotch as he attempted to calm himself down.

"Business as usual," Aidan informed Emily. "Set up computers for the new folks. I'll be busy in my office making a call. Turn the bloody cameras off if you can." He headed back into his office, and set the scotch down on the table. Three minutes of practically screaming into a phone later, Aidan emerged, hoping to see less of a disaster zone.

"Hopkins is coming from corporate," Aidan announced. "Our branch will either have transfers brought in or be absorbed. There is a eighty percent chance you'll still have a job at the end of the day, so...Get to work."

He wasn't really one for pep talks.

---

---

Gwen Westbrook

---

Location: Her Desk (9) ---> Desk 12; Dunder Mifflin

---

---

Gwen closed her copy of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and took a disappointed breath. The ending was a bit insane for her, but of course, her disappointment vanished in a moment. They'd finally gotten another story, taking place nineteen short years after the last. Gently putting the book down in her bag, Gwen stood up, ready to go find something productive to do. Instead, the office had turned into a wasteland, with most of the employees gone, and a few wackos standing around for interviews.

"I knew you were a murderer!" Gwen exclaimed, her eyes wide as she stared at Emily. But even with the maturity to match her age, Gwen knew that it was far more serious than that. Eugene was practically an island over in sales, and she collected her few belongings, walking over to Eugene. Setting her things down, she looked expectantly at the head of sales.

"Show me what to do." Was she qualified? No. Was she prepared? Of course not. Was she the only person in the office without a definitive job? Yes. She'd have to pick up the slack, and by god, Aidan better give her a fucking glowing letter of recommendation for it.